John and Mike Take a Hike ~ with Natalie!: Day 126 (Saturday, August 16th)

Today's Miles: 16.90
Trip Miles: 1579.10

Town shadow

I started about 7 and hiked into Dalton, Ma., about three miles away. I met up with Zip Lock and Rock Man and we entered the town together. On the way through they met people they knew and headed off to find some breakfast.

I stopped at a coffee shop and saw Yellowbeard; I hadn't seen him since Wanyesboro, Pa. They only had coffee and sandwiches there so I continued down the street to the Dalton Diner. I wasn't there long before Rock Man and Zip Lock joined me. A little while later Raven came by; another hiker I hadn't seen in quite a while. We finished eating and I headed back to the trail. I was looking forward to meeting my friend, Chuck Raymond, in Cheshire at 1:30. It's was about ten miles north so I needed to get moving.

It was a lot like yesterday on the trail; lots of mud, boulders and a few climbs. I got to the Cobbles, an outcropping of marble that looks over the Hoosic River Valley, when Chuck called. He was waiting for me in the parking lot next to the Cheshire Post Office. It was great to see a familiar face and share a couple of beers with him.

Found some sunglasses

We hopped in his car and headed for the Bass Water Grill. On the way we saw Yellowbeard and Cherry Blossom walking so we picked them up. They were heading to the same place so we all sat together. Chuck surprised us all by treating us to lunch! Great Trail Magic, Thanks Chuck!
YB and CB were being picked up by friends, so Chuck drove me back to the trail after a nice two hour visit, and we said goodbye.

I decided, with the late hour, to just hike five miles in to the Mark Noepel shelter. There were a bunch of hikers there, none of whom I knew and they weren't very talkative so I set up my tent on a platform and went to bed.

Night All.

P.S. It's 4 a.m. and I have animal visitors roaming around my tent. I'm up writing this and making a bit of noise to chase them off. This hasn't happened often out here, but it's a pain when it does. Sometimes I just shine my light outside and sometimes I shake my cooking pot. If I need it, I've got an air horn that the Administrator insisted I carry. I don't think the other hikers would appreciate it if I used that. I think I'll just put on my ear phones and pretend there's nothing there. Night.